How are you?
by Yet-Another-Weasley
Summary: It's after Easter break and Hermione never came back from vacation. Ron is really worried. Dumbledore tells them to stay in his office, but you know Harry and Ron, they go to St. Mungo's on their own to make sure Hermione is alright...


How are you?  
  
Another few months past and Spring break was over. Hermione and Ron had spent a lot more time together of the few months that had past, even though they still fought every so often. Spring break had meant, though, that they would not see each other for a whole week.  
  
Much to Ron's amusement, he and Harry had spent the week of break at Hogwarts, taking daily trips to Hogsmeade to keep up their supply of candy, which they ate the first day of break because they were so happy. Well, for the most part, anyway.  
  
Hermione, however and even though Ron tried his best to persuade her to stay at Hogwarts for the short break, did not. Instead she had gone with her parents to go camping in the north. She had invited Ron along, but he didn't really feel like it was his place to be going with Hermione on a family camping trip. She did send him a post card, though, but he really missed her, even if she was only gone for a week.  
  
The doors of the Great Hall opened and more students that left for break came pouring in. Ron stared at the entrance hall, waiting to see her again, but no Hermione was there. He scanned the Great Hall again and again, still no sign of her.  
  
"Where are you, Hermione?" Ron muttered under his breath.  
  
Harry gave him an odd look, "What's wrong? Are you talking to yourself?"  
  
"No," Ron replied, not even looking at Harry, "Where is she?"  
  
"Hermione?" asked Harry.  
  
Ron, again, ignored him and was looking around the room. Hermione wasn't anywhere to be found. So, finally it was time for classes and Ron was a bit reluctant to leave the Great Hall, but he did.  
  
He and Harry walked hastily down to the dungeons for NEWT potions with Professor Snape. They took their seats next to Neville and Dean Thomas and their eyes fell upon Snape, who was at the front of the classroom.  
  
He sneered at them and then spoke malevolently, "I know some of you may still have your head in the clouds from the long break, but if you screwed up this "easy" potion, that will not be an excuse. The directions are on the chalkboard and the ingredients can be found in the cupboard." He flicked his wand at both. "You have two hours, begin."  
  
But, Snape's "easy" potion couldn't have been harder. It required so many ingredients that had to be chopped up into tiny bits and then stirring the brew about 100 times in each direction, clockwise and counterclockwise. Ron and Harry sighed as the read and reread the directions over and over again so they would finally get it right.  
  
"Does anyone happen to know where Granger is?" Snape asked, he had an evil grin upon his face, "Harry, where has you girlfriend gone?" He laughed, along with the Slytherins on the other side of the room.  
  
"She's not his girlfriend," said Ron, a bit loudly at first and then he shut up and had a worried look upon his face. Great, he thought, now they know.  
  
"Oh, what's this?" Snape roared, "Well, Mr. Weasley, if she isn't Harry's girlfriend, who's is she?"  
  
His face was bright red, "I, err, don't know, exactly."  
  
"She wouldn't happen to be yours, would she?" he asked while laughing evilly.  
  
Ron didn't say anything, instead he looked down at his cauldron and the knife they had to use to chop up the ingredients. He though how much he would have liked to just pick up the knife and throw it at Snape right now, but discarded the idea when the door behind them all opened and someone walked in.  
  
It was Professor McGonagall and she had an urgent message for all of them that Monday morning. For some, it was a message of glee and happiness, but for others, it brought worrying and dismay.  
  
"Miss Granger will not be with us for a while. And may I ask to borrow Weasley and Potter?" She looked at Snape and the horrid expression on his face disappeared.  
  
"Yes, you may," he answered quickly, "I'd like to have a word with you, Minerva, in the lounge."  
  
"Potter, Weasley," Professor McGonagall said abruptly, "Follow me."  
  
She led them out into the empty hallways and to her room, not saying a word to them until they were safely inside.  
  
"I know you are about to ask me the whereabouts of Miss Granger," she said once they sat down and she poured them some tea, "And I will tell you this. Currently she is in St. Mungo's being treated, but only Professor Dumbledore, out of everyone in the Order has been there to speak with her and we aren't exactly sure what happened."  
  
Harry, who was sipping his tea while Professor McGonagall explained this, now took a great gulp of the steaming water that burned the back of his throat. Ron, however, was taking things even worse. He face, instead of the usual bright red that it turned, it went a ghostly white.  
  
"How is she?" Ron asked almost instantly, "Do you know?"  
  
"No, Mr. Weasley, I am unaware of her current status, but the Headmaster will be arriving any second now, he is at Headquarters discussing something with your mother," and right after Professor McGonagall was finished, they heard a rumbling in the fireplace and some dust shot out of the fire. A tall, long, grey bearded, wizard stepped out and brushed his robes off with his hands.  
  
"Ahh," he said, finally looking up, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Minerva." He looked at each one of them and gave a nod of his head. "A terrible accident has occurred that involved Mrs. Granger. I think it is best that I tell you all now and get Ron and Harry back to finish the day's classes."  
  
"Are they going to Headquarters tonight?" Minerva asked, looking at Dumbledore.  
  
"Yes, I have made arrangements for that, but that comes later," he said, "Now is the time for explaining why they are here in your office. As you may or may not know, Miss Granger, along with her parents, went on "vacation" this break. It wasn't, in fact, a vacation, but they were passing on a message to my dear friend, Hagrid. On the way back from their journey, they met someone unexpected." He paused for a moment. "Bellatrix Lestrange. As you all should know, Voldemort dislikes Muggles very much and so, using the Avada Kedavra curse, she killed Hermione's parents right there and then she turned to Hermione and was going to use the Crucio curse, most likely to make her suffer before she killed her. Fortunately, and to Bellatrix's surprise, a band of Giants, those who oppose Voldemort, showed up and she apparated from the scene, leaving a dying Hermione, lying unconscious next to her two dead parents."  
  
"Is Hermione okay?" Ron interrupted.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger is in St. Mungo's being treated right now. She did not suffer for long before the Giants came, so they are sure that any damage done is not permanent, though she is a bit lost and can't remember much."  
  
Ron was still looking pale, but now a bit less. At least she's alive, he thought, also thinking of the time his father was bitten by the snake and he was in St. Mungo's, almost on the verge between life and death.  
  
Harry was just sitting there, wondering whether his best friend was really going to be okay. Dumbledore sounded reassured, so he felt a bit better, but what would him and Ron, especially Ron, do if Hermione didn't make it.  
  
"Well, I think it'd be best if the students returned to their classes until the evening, don't you, headmaster?" Professor McGonagall suggested.  
  
"Yes, yes, perhaps they should," he said finally, "please send them to my office after the last bell sounds today. I have to be going, too." With a quick nod to everyone, he strode out of the room and down into the corridors.  
  
"Well, I guess I should escort you back to class, in case Severus has anything to say," Professor McGonagall Muttered and with that, they were out the door and down to the end of the corridor, down the several floors and into the dungeons to Professor Snape's classroom.  
  
Snape looked to the doorway as the three of them walked in. "Everything," he asked, "in Order?"  
  
"Big ones up north helped the one who is missing, but two of hers are dead. Meet me in my office tonight after the last bell rings," she didn't even looked at him, but scooted Ron and Harry to their seats and walked away briskly.  
  
Harry knew that they were talking in code, probably because they didn't want to say anything in front of the students, especially Malfoy, who was the last person they'd want to find out about the Order.  
  
The other students looked at each other curiously, but went right back to work after Snape's usual face returned. They all continued chopping and throwing ingredients into their cauldrons, then stirring some hundred times.  
  
The end of the period was drawing near and Professor Snape stood up and addressed the class, "Pour you hopefully correct potion into the flask and place it on my desk."  
  
Everyone did so and the bell finally sounded and everyone rushed to the upcoming class. Hours later, Harry and Ron were headed for the Great Hall. They were about to grab a quick meal and then head up to Dumbledore's office, but they were stopped by four Slytherins, who were blocking the hallway.  
  
"Malfoy," said Harry as the four students came into closer view.  
  
"Yes, Potter, pleasure to see you again," his tone was sarcastic, "even if you are with that muggle-lover Weasley. So, where's the Mudblood?"  
  
"Don't you call her that!" screamed Ron.  
  
"The Muggle-lover stands up for the Mudblood," Pansy sneered, "How cute."  
  
Crabbe and Golye didn't say anything, perhaps they're so stupid they couldn't think of anything nasty to say, but no matter, they still stared down Ron and Harry. It was making both of them a bit nervous.  
  
"Move, Malfoy," said Harry threateningly. "Or I'll -"  
  
Malfoy cut him off, "Or you'll what?"  
  
"Yes, Mr. Potter," a dark voice said from the shadows of the corridor, "what are you planning to do to my student?"  
  
Snape appeared and Harry was in an awkward position. "Or I'll tell Snape that I saw you in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."  
  
Ron was laughing under his breath and Pansy and Malfoy just sneered at them.  
  
"Is this true, Malfoy?" Snape asked, unconsciously.  
  
"I think Potter just said that because he has a guilty conscious," Malfoy said, now he was howling with laughter.  
  
"One point from Slytherin," said Snape, this comment made Malfoy's eyes widen, "because of laughing at a serious matter.  
  
Malfoy looked confused and very mad at the same time. Harry knew what Malfoy was thinking, Why had Snape just taken a point away from Slytherin and not Gryffindor, and why did he just walk away?  
  
There was no longer time for a quick meal, instead, Ron and Harry raced up to Dumbledore's office to see what they were going to do. "Tongue Tranglur!" shouted Harry at the stone Gargoyles and they leaped aside.  
  
Ron and Harry raced up the spiral escalator and pounded on the door to Dumbledore's office. Nobody answered, so they knocked again and then the door opened by itself. No one was in the room, the door must not have been properly shut. Both boys went and sat down in the comfy chairs beside the headmaster's desk.  
  
"I hope she's okay," said Ron to himself.  
  
"I wonder where Dumbledore is," Harry said, "Are we just going to headquarters or straight to St. Mungo's?"  
  
Nobody had shown up and Ron was looking lost and desperate. He got up and walked around the room, looking at the weird objects on the shelves. He was so anxious and nervous that he dropped some sort of glass box and it shattered and let off puffs of smoke as it fell and hit the floor. Finally he faced Harry and began to talk.  
  
"We can go to St. Mungo's ourselves," he suggested, "I need to be sure she's okay."  
  
"Look, I know we're her best friends," Replied Harry, "but I trust Dumbledore and he said everything will be okay. I'm sure he has his reasons for not being here on time."  
  
"Use Thestrals like last time," Ron muttered, apparently he didn't even know Harry had said anything, "good idea."  
  
"Ron, we can't do that," Harry warned him, "We'll get ourselves killed or seriously hurt and then we'll be in St. Mungo's, too!"  
  
"I DON'T CARE!" Ron screamed, "Hermione is the most important thing in the world to me, I can't just sit here while she could be dying!"  
  
What's up with him? Harry thought, He definitely hasn't been himself today.  
  
Ron fled from the room and down several flights of stairs. Finally he reached the Great Hall. A few teachers were still sitting at the long staff table, finishing up a late meal. Never the less, Ron took no care nor notice and ran by them and out onto the school grounds.  
  
"Was that Ron Weasley?" shrieked Professor Flitwick, "Where's he off to?"  
  
Almost all of the teachers that were sitting there had gotten up to see what was going on, but it was too late, Ron was already at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He looked around for the Thestrals. Yes, he could see them now. Ever since he saw Percy sacrifice himself so that he, Harry, and Hermione could escape. Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, was trying to capture and kill Harry and Ron's brother, the traitor to the family and to Harry, came to the rescue and sacrificed himself for everyone else's safety.  
  
"Ron whistled when he hears the flutter of huge wings and saw something black gleaming in the shadows. In a few seconds, a pair of Thestrals appeared from out of the woods and he rubbed their noses and got on one of them.  
  
"I can't go without Harry," Ron thought aloud. The Thestral flew him up to the window of Dumbledore's office and he knocked on the window.  
  
"What on Earth are you doing?" Harry yelled as he opened the window, climbed out, and steadied himself onto the small ledge.  
  
"Going to St. Mungo's," said Ron, now feeling fearful of what he had just done, "Want to come?"  
  
He climbed on the other Thestral that was tailing Ron's and then said to Ron, "Are you sure you're okay? You're starting to act like I used to!"  
  
Well that was it, they were off. Both Harry and Ron were wondering how the teachers and Dumbledore would react when they found out what they had just done, along with what had happened to whatever that small glass box was in Dumbledore's office.Hmm, maybe he won't care about that, Harry thought, after all, I destroyed lots of his stuff in my fifth year and he was quite pleased. He laughed at the thought of the old wizard saying, "I daresay I have too many of those, anyway. I've got three more at home in different colors. He would say something just like that.  
  
"Ron, I seriously doubt we'll reach St. Mungo's tonight. Do you realize how far away we are?" Harry pointed out.  
  
"We'll make it," replied Ron with confidence.  
  
They flew over the Hogwarts grounds and over the valleys and river below. It was an amazing view, even if Ron didn't particularly like riding the Thestrals. Wind swept through both boys hair and their robes were pointing straight back. Night was ending and finally they saw where they entered St. Mungo's before.  
  
The dirty window was covered in dew as the morning arrived and they talked to the doll and glided through the window. Walking up the desk, Harry asked where Hermione's room was and they made their way.  
  
"Here it is," said Ron and he opened the door and walked in after Harry. Although, to his surprise, Hermione was no where in sight. The three beds that could be seen had occupants well over Ron's and Harry's age. The name tags above the beds read, "Monet Pegifny, Louis Resotington, and Audrica Amble; the last and finally bed had the curtain pulled around it, though it looked as though someone was lying in the bed. Harry and Ron walked over there and tried not to wake the other occupants as they writhed open the curtain to find someone else laying Hermione's hospital bed.  
  
The woman cackled evilly as she saw the looks upon their faces, "It's been a while, wee little Potter, hasn't it?" She gave another dark laugh. "Did you think we had forgotten about you? When was it last, November since you last saw me? When that brat of a Weasley saved your skins?"  
  
"What did you do to her!" Ron screamed, his patience was diminishing.  
  
"She's long gone, but I was informed you were coming," she said in-between evil fits of giggles. "But that's right, the old crackpot tells you," she pointed to Harry, "nothing, you wouldn't know that she was checked out of here hours ago. That, you imbeciles, is when I came in, gave a quick visit to the Longbottoms and then found this room, to set up my trap."  
  
"Your trap?" Harry said, confused.  
  
"The one you've just fallen into!" she bellowed. With a flick of her wand she locked the door and jumped up from the bed where she lay. Her wand was held tightly in her left hand. "Crucio!" The spell was shot at Ron, who fell to the ground, wriggling, he was laughing hysterically.  
  
"No! Stupefy!" said Harry, the spell hit a lamp at the bedside and it exploded into hundreds of tiny pieces. He tried again and it hit her wand, knocking it out of her hand. As she lunged for it, she kicked him in the stomach and she fell against the wall.  
  
Standing above her, he screamed, "Take the curse off him or I'll kill you now!"  
  
"Silly boy!" she screamed and with a faint pop she had disappeared.  
  
"Arrghh!" Ron was having fits of seizures and was screaming and laughing at the same time. Harry did know what to do, he looked around at the other occupants of the room, but they were too frightened for words. All they did was stare at Ron.  
  
"Do something!" Harry screamed at them and finally the young woman in the bed nearest the door spoke.  
  
"Hand me your wand," she managed to utter, "hurry now, Harry!"  
  
He handed it to her quickly and she bellowed the counter spell, "Inimredio!" Ron stopped wriggling, but his screams didn't stop. The pain must be unbearable, Harry thought, I hope he's alright. He fell to the floor beside Ron and turned him over. He looked okay, but he didn't stop screaming and his hands were over his face, he was curled in the fetal position. What am I going to do? Harry pondered, but his thoughts were answered by the woman who lifted the spell from Ron. Here, use this, he heard her say, but it was only in his head, open the door, leave the red haired boy here and get to Dumbledore.  
  
Didn't mean to end this so suddenly, but I'll give everyone something to read while I continue to work on this more. I know you might think this is a bit weird, but I have some plans for it. J 


End file.
